I thought it was rather implied that there weren't a whole lot of planets that could be terraformed and that because of previous failures, Earth was one of the only possibilities they had. I also got the impression that Zod was making Earth "pay" for Jor-El's "treachery".
I didn't get that impression, because it seemed to me that the other planets were successfully terraformed at one point. It was just they couldn't stand alone after Krypton withdrew support. I mean, if they can change gravity and atmosphere, I don't really see why another planet wouldn't do. But I might have missed something, I admit.
Someone mentioned that most of the people of Earth didn't know what was happening, but I remember a scene where the terraforming process was being transmitted on TV, so the vast majority of the people of Earth did know that aliens were attacking and trying to take over the planet.
I don't recall it being transmitted, but I'll take your word for it. But unless we saw a spokesperson telling them what was happening, I'm not sure most of the population would know the planet was being terraformed (as opposed to some weird alien weapon) or that that (instead of some other reason) was why the alien in blue was fighting them. I mean, even the military didn't consider him on their side at first, and that was
after he turned himself in to save the planet.
I think they could have had Clark save the bus load of kids without revealing his secret. He wouldn't have needed to come up out of the water so quickly that Pete Ross and Lana Lang saw him. I think they just wanted Pete and Lana to know. As for Jonathan saying that Clark should have let the kids die, if you think about it, that is what someone might say before they think. Like if they said it in anger. But that isn't what they did in the movie - Jonathan was quite calm.
I think Clark couldn't have saved them discreetly, but that's for storytelling reasons, not logical ones.
Thematically, he needs to be going against "society's wishes" (the Kents, in this case) when he's saving people to fit the theme of choosing his own destiny instead of doing what he was always told he should do. Also, he's 13 and doesn't have much time to
think about these things in the heat of the moment. I'll say discretion doesn't seem to be something this Clark ever learned. He just does what he has to as leaves afterwards. I think the reason is for the audience to see that
repeatedly he's faced with the decision of revealing himself or letting people die and chooses revealing himself (the bus, the oil rig, Lois), because that's what he is. Except that one time Jonathan convinced him otherwise (in scene I'll admit doesn't work for me - may improve on a second viewing).
As far as I can recall, Clark never uses his powers surreptitiously in this movie. It's like the idea never occurred either to him or his family.
I agree Jonathan was calm when he said that. Maybe troubled, I'm not sure on that account. I will say he says "maybe" instead of "yes." I guess he doesn't know all the answers, either. I think of it as "I don't want anyone dead/hurt, but if it's their lives v. my child's..." and others think he's got a "greater good" mentality for the planet. I guess we really don't know. I do think he'd probably be less careful if it were
his secret. And I wonder if he just can't
understand how it feels to Clark in these situations. It's kind of interesting, really, the contrast between this and the '78 movie, where Jonathan absolutely understands how Clark feels, but Clark's only motivation to use his powers is to win football games and show up bullies (he's not exposed to life or death situations).
I felt sorry for Clark because he had to kill Zod, but it was obvious he was upset about it. I thought it was an integral part of the movie. Even our beloved LNC Clark came to that point himself when he nearly killed Nor and would have if the government hadn't stepped in to try to kill him, too.
For me, didn't mind Superman killing Zod. He was written into a corner where there was no other way, and it's okay for Superman to kill under that circumstance, to me. I'm glad he was conflicted and so so broken up about it, of course. Loved the hug scene aftewards. But it'd they wanted Zod sucked into the Phantom Zone with the others, I'd have been okay with that, too. It wasn't necessary to the movie, to me.
I don't think it's a given that Clark had no credentials to be given the job at DP. Even in LNC, he traveled around the world after he got his education, and I was always thought it was assumed that he did not always work as a reporter in those travels nor did he always use his own name. He would not necessarily need to have a degree in journalism. A degree in other things could also work.
I always thought Clark did use his own name in his travels in LNC, but I can't be sure of that, of course. This Clark may well have a degree, but I don't think he's done journalism before - there's no indication of it. But again, I guess we can't know.
I totally missed that. I thought the dog died. I remember turning around and looking at something behind me at one point. That must have been when I turned. I knew that he ended up being injured and couldn't walk.
Yeah, I think he manages to kick open a stuck door, and the dog runs free, but then Jonathan is limping. Can't swear that's the way it goes down, though.
